Kansas City Chief’s Tight End Travis Kelce is one of the more outspoken players in the NFL.
He’s hosted a dating show before (even though people that represent tried to stop him), and he killed it last winter when he hosted the long running sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. Kelce doesn’t shy away from the spotlight, and when it comes to this most recent quote, he also doesn’t mind bringing the spotlight right to him.
In a sit down with Vanity Fair, the All-Pro tight end estimated that around 50% to 80% of the NFL is using cannabis. Kelce explained what he has seen around the league and how he believes players are getting away with it:
“If you just stop (using) in the middle of July, you’re fine.
A lot of guys stop a week before, and they still pass (drug tests) because everybody’s working out in the heat and sweating their tail off.
Nobody’s really getting hit for it anymore.”
And you know what, Kelce is right.
When is the last time you read about a professional football player testing positive for marijuana? It’s been a while. More often than not now, players are getting busted left and right for violating league policies about gambling.
Travis Kelce has been in the NFL for 10 years, so he isn’t just making this statistic up. He’s clearly seen some things around the league and even around his own locker room.
The two-time Super Bowl winning tight end is no stranger to cannabis use himself. When he played in college at the University of Cincinnati, he was actually suspended from the team at one point for using the drug.
But as the country becomes more and more accepting of cannabis, it might be a waste of time to continue to crack down on marijuana use in the NFL, especially if it is benefiting the player’s health.
One of the biggest proponents of cannabis use in sports is former NFL standout and Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams, who is now one of the most pro-cannabis voices you’ll find in the media.
He walked away from the game in his prime (with some added issues from positive drug tests), and he has always been an advocate for the medicinal purposes of marijuana for NFL players.
Williams himself said back in December of last year:
“These days, at least 80 percent of NFL players smoke weed. I don’t think they’re smoking before games. I think there might be one or two guys on the team.
But especially this day and age, it’s everywhere, it’s so easy. My opinion, if you’re in the NFL, why wouldn’t you?”
And we see that 80% number again there. Coincidence? I think not. Someone out there is running the numbers while the (alleged) pro-cannabis players are running out on the field to entertain us.
Whatever the guys have to do to get out there and play football on Sundays, I’m all for it.
